Various storage containers have been designed, through the years, for various end uses. Increasingly, designers of such houseware products have attempted to provide storage containers which are, on the one hand, aesthetically appealing, and on the other hand provide a convenient means for safely storing various food stuffs in pantries, kitchens and other food preparation areas.
As of late, designers of such houseware products have endeavored to create storage containers which provide the ability to not only store food in bulk, but also to store the same food items for longer periods of time. In this regard, several manufacturers have attempted to provide stackable, airtight storage containers for storing dry food products over prolonged periods of times. Manufacturers such as OXO International have sold dry storage containers under such trademarks as the OXO Good Grips Pop Container™ and which provides a clear storage container having a removable, substantially airtight lid which is activated by a push button latch assembly that is located in the central portion thereof. This product includes on its container lid a circumscribing silicone seal, which matingly engages the sidewall of the storage container when the push button latch is depressed so as to substantially seal the dry food product within the storage container.
Another example of a commercially available food storage container of similar design is marketed under the trademark “Gourmet Living” and which is sold and distributed by Shopko Stores Operating Company LLC of Greenbay, Wis. Again, this substantially clear storage container includes a removable lid having a circumscribing silicone seal which, when urged outwardly by a pressure plate which is provided with the container lid, engages the sidewall of the storage container so as to provide a substantially airtight seal.
While each of the aforementioned commercially available products have operated with varying degrees of success, shortcomings attributable to their design have detracted from their usefulness. Chief among the defects in the designs mentioned, above, relate to the complexity of the overall design, and their relative inability to be adequately cleaned in the event that the product is used to store a liquid food product. In the case of the OXO International product described, above, the push button latch mechanism is complex in its overall design, and includes some mechanical features which cannot be readily disassembled, and cleaned by a user of the product. Still further with the earlier mentioned container marketed under the trademark “Gourmet Living,” it includes a moveable pressure plate, and an expandable silicone gasket which cannot be readily detached from the container top and cleaned. In view of these design deficiencies, both manufacturers have clearly indicated in their packaging instructions to the consumer that the container is to be used only for dry food storage.
It has long been recognized that long term food storage for food products having liquid or other fluid components is desirable. However, no particular design of an airtight storage container and easily removable lid has emerged that provides a means for the convenient storage of food components having liquid portions, or components, and which further can be readily disassembled so as to allow a user thereof to adequately clean the component pieces thereof so as to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria, and to remove food debris and other particulate matter, and the like, following its usage.
Therefore, a sealable storage container which addresses the shortcomings attendant with the prior art practices, and designs employed, heretofore, is the subject matter of the present invention.